Rock and Roll Never Forgets (The Rock and Roll Trilogy) (36 page)

She leaned toward him and put her head on his shoulder.
“
Oh my-gosh, I didn
’
t know until now,” she whispered. “I never heard it like this before
.
Didn
’
t realize…”

He took her hand in his left, put his right arm lovingly around her shoulders and pulled her closer.

Andy finished and received a standing ovation.

The Song
o
f
t
he Year
was the next award, and as they
recapped
the nominations, Andy waited back stage
. Amy Grant and Vince Gill were reading the list.

That Grammy nomination meant far more to Beth than Andy. But she was so proud of him that he wanted to win it because of her,
happy
that she was there with him to share the whole experience.

“
And the winner for Song of the Year…” Amy tore into the envelope.
“
Andy Stevens!” She shouted,
“Yesterday, Today and Forever
!”

He walked back out on the stage, Amy hugged him and Vince shook his hand. He walked to the podium and looked out over the audience. Beth told herself he was looking at Roddy, but she knew who he was looking at. He took a minute to begin as the crowd applauded.

“
Thank you.” He looked down and took a breath, “Thank you from my heart for liking what I love to do. They all come from my head, but that one came from deep, very deep in my heart. This one
’
s for you.”
H
e raised the statue and blew
th
a
t familiar
kiss.

That
’
s all he said, all he needed to. She knew what he meant. Her family would know what he meant.

He didn’t come back to his seat for a while. Roddy explained that he was getting some press obligations over with so that they could make a quick escape when the ceremonies were over. He didn
’
t say anything when he returned. He took Beth’s hand and held it in his
,
the rest of the evening
.

When it was over the three of them exited through the same back way they had entered, to a waiting limo. Once in, Andy took out his phone and dialed.

“
Hello,” he said casually. “Hang on,” he handed it to Beth.

“
Hello?”

“
Mama, I saw you!”

“
Hello sweet girl! Why aren
’
t you in bed, it
’
s so late!”

“Daddy and Aunt Kimmy let me stay up so I could see you! I miss you.”

“
Oh Carlee, I miss you, too,” and all the emotions of the evening and the sound of her sweet child
’
s voice brought the tears to her eyes.
“
Tell Aunt Kimmy to get you in bed and I
’
ll be there tomorrow to tuck you in. I love you so much sweet girl. Let Daddy have the phone, OK?”

“
Hey,” he said. “We saw you. Carlee had a nap after supper. She wanted to see you on TV so bad. I thought it
’
d be OK. You looked pretty Beth. Are you feeling alright?”

It struck me at that moment the difference between these two men;
‘
Pretty
’
to John,
‘
Bea
utiful and delectable
’
to Andy.

“
Thank you. Yeah, pretty much. Tired, but I
’
m OK, don
’
t worry.” She knew he would anyway.
“
I
’
ll see you tomorrow. Good night, honey. Wait, OK?” Andy was reaching for the phone.

“
Thanks John, Roddy and I had the best looking date in the place. She
’
s fine. We
’
ll get her home safe.”

~ ~ ~

John had seen them on TV. He had seen their faces and it was an image he couldn
’
t get out of his mind. He knew they had all seen it. He heard the emotion in Andy
’
s voice as he sang; it was so strong. John listened this time and he had heard the words differently as well. He heard the love in Andy’s voice during his acceptance speech, and he had seen that vision of him back in his seat, holding Beth’s hand in his lap. It wasn’t just a friendly gesture. He saw the look on Andy’s face. He was a man sharing a moment with the woman he loved. The woman
he
loved. He knew Beth’s heart and he hurt
.

~ ~ ~

In the limo, Beth leaned back into the seat. Roddy was across from her. He picked her feet up and put them in his lap. He slipped her shoes off and started to gently rub, and Beth fell asleep. It was about a twenty-minute ride to the hotel. When they arrived
,
she woke, her feet still in Roddy’s lap, her head on Andy’s shoulder. It was around 9:30 West coast time.

As they rode up in the elevator Roddy said;
“
I had dinner sent to your room Beth
.
I
’
ll see you in the morning.” He kissed her cheek and left them in the hallway as he entered his room.

Andy put the key card in his door, Beth hadn
’
t taken a purse. They entered through the door to his room
.

“
Something smells good,” she said.
“
I didn
’
t realize how hungry I was! I
’
m gonna go change, I
’
ll be right back.”

“
No, Beth,” he said. “Wait, please wait.” 

She turned to look at him; “Don
’
t change. Not yet, I want to look at you. Let
’
s just have dinner.”

He turned the TV on to one of the music channels and found classical music. No words, just soft, lulling music. It had been a long evening, and she
sat
the whole time, so he put the
inflatable
donut on the chair and Beth sat down. They shared a wonderful meal, and a glass of wine. They chatted like old friends about the evening.

“Andy,” she said finally. “Thank you.” It came out awkwar
d, and she added, “For the song…
”

He leaned back in the chair, but said nothing. He took a sip of the wine, holding the glass by the stem, he lightly swirled it. Looking at her, he was taking it all in. “Be still a minute, I want this picture engrained in my memory.” After a minute he said, “No, my love, thank you.”

When the
y
’
d finished the meal,
he came to her chair, reached for her hand and she rose. He was so quiet, so in thought. They headed to the sitting area. She went toward the sofa but he stopped her, pulling her gently into his arms.

“
Bethy,” it was a breathy whisper. He pulled her closer and she moved into him. He took her hand and their fingers twined together. She felt the warm
th
,
inhaled the
smell of him
,
melted into his arms, and let the cares of the world, her world, her illness, everything… drift away like butterflies in the spring.

He hummed the tune in her ear as they began to move slowly to the music. He kissed the top of her head, a gesture that brought her to tears.

“
Don
’
t,” he said. “Please don’t cry. Just let me be here. Let me hold you for a while, no pressure, no tears.” He held her back to look at her. “OK?”
But she
still she cried.

When the music was over he took her hand and they went to the sofa. She sat, pulling her feet up under her. What did she care if that dress wrinkled? Andy put his feet on the coffee table and pulled her closer.

This is wrong, but how could it be when i
t feels so right. How could it?

Sometime later
,
Andy rose and went to
his
room. He carried the phone from his room to Beth’s. He pushed the carts with the remains of their dinner int
o the hall and turned lights off
as he returned to the sofa. He left a dim lamp on a table close to the door lit, casting a soft
golden
glow over everything in the room.

“
Bethy…”

She prayed once more,
‘
Oh God, give me strength…
’

She looked at him, but could not speak. He sat down beside her again, reached toward her and framed her face with a light touch.

‘
God, please give me strength,
’
she prayed again.

He pulled her into his arms,
on
his lap
,
and kissed her. She returned the kiss.

Such passion I have never felt.
Not from Andy or anyone else.

“
Just let me lie with you,” he said, softly.
“
Sleep, Bethy, just let me hold you. I won
’
t ask for more.”

She remembered all those years ago when he had said those same words to her and the tears continued.

‘
God please…
’
she kept praying.

She couldn
’
t speak, but as if in another body, she saw herself rise from the sofa
;
holding his hand, she walked with him to the bed. She sat as Andy removed his shirt and shoes. Leaving his pants on, he pulled her to her feet. He unzipped her dress and she stepped out of it letting it drop to the floor as he held the shirt for her to slip into.

It doesn
’
t feel wrong.

They lay there in the dark for some time, Beth in Andy
’
s arms. His hand, so light on her back, finally made its way to her bottom. He lightly, lovingly
,
touched, explored, and caressed the place where the mole
had been.
It was so sweet, so tender. He wanted to know. In all this time, John had hardly even looked at it, but John had never explored her body the way Andy had. She felt tears on her skin that were not her own. Then he wrapped her tighter in his embrace and once again, she spent a night wrapped in his arms.
Th
ey both cried for the past, and maybe for the future.

~ ~ ~

In the dim light of morning she slipped out of his arms and rose. She stood by the bed for a very long time looking at the sleeping man that she loved more than life. She smelled him on the shirt, remembered the night before, and it took her breath away. It felt so good, and it hurt more than anything she had ever felt before.

She quietly went to Andy’s room with the phone and called for room service to bring a carafe of coffee. All those years, didn
’
t she know that he would want it when he woke? She told them to bring it to his door so that the knock would not wake him. A short time later she put the tray of coffee on the bedside table. She sat in the middle of the king sized bed she shared with him the night before, and scooted beside him. Her hands went to his back, lightly rubbing, and then she lay down and wrapped her arm around him and kissed his back. He rolled over and pulled her to him.

“
Hey,” he said kissing her.

“
Hey back to you. How
‘
bout some java, Joe?”

“
How well you know me.”

She sat up
,
poured two cups,
and sat
Indian style
, beside him
. Andy slid up against the headboard.
“
What time is it?” he asked pushing the hair back out of his face, sipping the coffee.

“
Just after eight.” Beth wrapped her hands around the cup as if the warmth was necessary. She held it tightly to steady her nerves.

“
Been awake long?” He rubbed sleep from his eyes and sipped what he always called the ‘elixir of the Gods’.

“
Just long enough to get a really good look at you before we go home.” 

“
Bethy…” and he reached for her. She sat the coffee aside and slid down and into his arms, her head on his chest.